Yogscast
The Yogscast,' '''incorporated as' Yogscast Ltd', are a group of YouTube broadcasters who produce gaming-related video content, focused around their main YouTube channel, YOGSCAST Lewis & Simon (formerly BlueXephos), with additional content syndicated through a wider network of YouTube channels. Yogscast Story : 'Original extract on Yogscast.com ''' 'Who are The Yogscast?'Welcome traveller! Please take a seat and I will tell you a tale as old as time itself. Let me tell you about, the Yoggle brast So back in 2008 a young man named Lewis decided that he needed to share his best friend Simon’s charm with the world. From his back room he started a little YouTube channel called BlueXephos. They gained initial renown for some of the most respected and entertaining World of Warcraft boss guides to this date. The duo then founded the #1 ranked podcast, the YoGPoD - a show featuring hilarious banter and tales with the occasional celebrity guest. In 2010, Simon and Lewis showed YouTube viewers across the globe how to survive a night in Minecraft. This went on to form the basis of one of the most popular serialised shows on YouTube, The Shadow of Israphel. Getting to this point had not been a two man job. They had received help from so many sources - Guildmates, friends, family and even complete strangers. Some of whom wanted help setting up their own YouTube channels, to which Lewis and Simon were only too happy to oblige. So The Yogscast started growing. Initially it was just the lovely Hannah, creative Duncan and magnificent Sips but soon many more were to follow. The Yogscast was no longer just a YouTube channel but now a whole family. So now, 6 years later with over 20 million subscribers, billions of views and more than 20 channels in the mix, The Yogscast shows no sign of slowing down. No longer just sticking to uploading videos of the favourite games, mods and adventure maps, the guys have expanded their content to include exceptional animations, music videos, tabletop games and live action pieces. Including the occasional tank, of course. The Yogscast has grown to include some of the most talented musicians, animators, editors, writers, artists and business minded people around, but our aim still stays exactly the same… To always have fun with our friends.http://www.yogscast.com/about/story Yogscast Members The Yogscast is made up of many members, but the most well-known ones are the YouTube Content Producers. They are: * Lewis Brindley (Xephos) * Simon Lane (Honeydew) * Paul Sykes (Sjin) * Duncan Jones (Lalna) * Chris Lovasz (Sips) * Hannah Rutherford (Lomadia) * Martyn Littlewood (InTheLittleWood) * Joakim Hellstrand (Rythian) * Liam MacKay (Nilesy) * Chris Trott (Trottimus) * Alex Smith (Alsmiffy) * Ross Hornby (Djh3max) * Kim Richards (NanoSounds) * Sam Thorne (Strippin) * Keith Steinbach (BebopVox) * Zoey Proasheck (Zoeya) * John Cochrane (Panda) * Dave Bagnall (DaveChaos) * Steven Goates (Ridgedog) * Matt Needler (iFirez) * Phil Southam (BruteAlmighty) * Toby Cottrell (SoTotallyToby) * William Strife (Linkthe1st) * Mark Turpin (Turpster) * Ted Forsyth (Pyrion Flax) * Alex Parvis (Parv) * Rick van Laanen (Zylus) Also, a pretty big chunk of the Yogscast are staff members that, most of them, work at YogTowers. These members are: * Anya Ferris (MintyMinute) * Ørjan Aarvik (Teutron) * Harry Marshall (VeteranHarry) * Rich Keith * Dave Boddington (Bodders) * Ciaran Askew (Ceeraanoo) * Nina-Serena * Adam Davis * Sam Gibbs * Niall * Colin Bassett * Tom Clark * Tom Perkins * Tom Bates * Si Melton * Alex Turner * Adrian Ruiz * Ben Edgar * Nathan Ditum * Rob Pearson * Dave Jackson There are also Associates who are basically Yogscast members, but aren't YouTubers or Staff members who work at YogTowers. They are: * Ferazhin * Dave Fayram (KirinDave) * Tom Clarke (Sparkles*) * Fred Malmhake (FredMalm) * Charlie McShane * Daryl Pendry (Reckreations) Some of the original Yogscast staff have left or been fired. * Peva, was the host of the Minecraft Servers and Website Creator and was fired due to a falling out between members of the Yogscast. * Tinman was the website manager and was fired because he had stolen somewhere between $18,000 to $21,000 from the Yogscast Website by redirecting its advertising banners. * Phatima was one of the Shadow of Israphel directors but left the Yogscast for unknown reasons. * GameChap and Bertie used to be part of the Yogscast family, though they eventually severed ties with the Yogscast for saying uncivil things to Yognau(gh)ts on the Yogscast subreddit. * Brent Copeland and Eric Fullerton left the Yogscast due to financial troubles and time-zone issues. Timeline of the Yogscast Staff ImageSize = width:710 height:812.5 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:100 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2008 till:31/03/2014 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2008 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2008 Colors = id:member value:green legend:Member id:memberwithchannel value:teal legend:Member with Channel id:hatfilms value:brightblue legend:Hat Films id:fyreuk value:red legend:Fyre UK id:dwp value:brightgreen legend:Dead Workers Party id:bts value:orange legend:Behind the Scenes id:editor value:yellow legend:Editor id:area11 value:purple legend:Area 11 id:animator value:lavender legend:Animator id:artist value:blue legend:Artist id:associate value:black legend:Associate BarData = bar:Lewis text: "Lewis Brindley" bar:Simon text: "Simon Lane" bar:Hannah text: "Hannah Rutherford" bar:Duncan text: "Duncan Jones" bar:Chris text: "Chris Lovasz" bar:Paul text: "Paul Sykes" bar:Joakim text: "Joakim Hellstrand" bar:Liam text: "Liam MacKay" bar:Zoey text: "Zoey Proasheck" bar:Martyn text: "Martyn Littlewood" bar:John text: "John Cochrane" bar:Sam text: "Sam Thorne" bar:Kim text: "Kim Richards" bar:Rick text: "Rick van Laanen" bar:Dave text: "Dave Bagnall" bar:Will text: "William Strife" bar:Ted text: "Ted" bar:Keith text: "Keith Steinbach" bar:Mark text: "Mark Turpin" bar:Toby text: "Toby Cottrell" bar:Alexander text: "Alex Smith" bar:Ross text: "Ross Hornby" bar:Christopher text: "Chris Trott" bar:Brent text: "Brent Copeland" bar:Eric text: "Eric Fullerton" bar:Phil text: "Phil" bar:Matt text: "Matt Needler" bar:Anya text: "Anya Ferris" bar:Si text: "Si Melton" bar:Steven text: "Steven Goates" bar:TomC text: "Tom Clark" bar:Rich text: "Rich Keith" bar:David text: "David Boddington" bar:Adam text: "Adam Davis" bar:TomB text: "Tom Bates" bar:Colin text: "Colin" bar:Sparkles text: "Tom Clarke" bar:Alex text: "Alex Parvis" bar:JonathanK text: "Jonathan Kogan" bar:Leo text: "Leo Taylor" bar:Fredrik text: "Fredrik Malmhake" bar:Ciaran text: "Ciaran Askew" bar:Ørjan text: "Orjan Aarvik" bar:Harry text: "Harry Marshall" bar:Ferazhin text: "Ferazhin" bar:Nina text: "Nina-Serena" bar:Ben text: "Ben Fry" bar:Nicholas text: "Nicholas Buccino" bar:JonathanW text: "Jonathan Whitten" bar:Jon text: "Jon Evans" bar:GameChap text: "GameChap" bar:BertieChap text: "BertieChap" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Lewis from:01/01/2008 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Simon from:01/01/2008 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Hannah from:01/09/2008 till:05/07/2011 color:member bar:Hannah from:05/07/2011 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Duncan from:01/01/2009 till:03/12/2011 color:member bar:Duncan from:03/12/2011 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Chris from:01/01/2009 till:03/12/2011 color:member bar:Chris from:03/12/2011 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Paul from:01/01/2009 till:04/02/2012 color:member bar:Paul from:04/02/2012 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Joakim from:01/01/2009 till:28/10/2011 color:member bar:Joakim from:28/10/2011 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Liam from:01/07/2012 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Zoey from:18/08/2012 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Martyn from:01/06/2011 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:John from:15/01/2013 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Sam from:01/10/2012 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Kim from:01/01/2013 till:01/05/2013 color:editor bar:Kim from:02/05/2013 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Rick from:01/08/2012 till:15/07/2013 color:associate bar:Rick from:15/07/2013 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Dave from:02/08/2013 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Will from:14/12/2013 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Ted from:14/01/2014 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Keith from:22/01/2014 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Mark from:01/01/2012 till:24/01/2014 color:bts bar:Mark from:25/01/2014 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Toby from:07/02/2014 till:end color:memberwithchannel bar:Alexander from:25/08/2013 till:end color:hatfilms bar:Ross from:25/08/2013 till:end color:hatfilms bar:Christopher from:25/08/2013 till:end color:hatfilms bar:Phil from:25/01/2014 till:end color:fyreuk bar:Matt from:25/01/2014 till:end color:fyreuk bar:Eric from:07/02/2014 till:end color:dwp bar:Brent from:07/02/2014 till:end color:dwp bar:Anya from:01/01/2012 till:end color:bts bar:Si from:01/01/2013 till:end color:bts bar:Steven from:01/01/2012 till:end color:bts bar:TomC from:01/01/2012 till:03/01/2013 color:editor bar:TomC from:03/01/2013 till:end color:bts bar:Rich from:30/12/2013 till:end color:bts bar:David from:28/02/2014 till:end color:bts bar:Adam from:01/06/2012 till:end color:editor bar:TomB from:01/02/2013 till:end color:editor bar:Colin from:01/03/2013 till:end color:editor bar:Sparkles from:01/09/2011 till:end color:area11 bar:Alex from:01/03/2012 till:end color:area11 bar:JonathanK from:01/08/2012 till:end color:area11 bar:Leo from:01/09/2012 till:end color:area11 bar:Fredrik from:21/03/2011 till:end color:animator bar:Ciaran from:01/10/2011 till:end color:animator bar:Ørjan from:01/02/2012 till:end color:artist bar:Harry from:01/09/2011 till:end color:artist bar:Ferazhin from:01/08/2013 till:end color:artist bar:Nina from:17/10/2013 till:end color:artist bar:Ben from:01/09/2012 till:end color:associate bar:Nicholas from:01/10/2012 till:end color:associate bar:JonathanW from:01/02/2010 till:end color:associate bar:Jon from:01/09/2012 till:end color:associate bar:GameChap from:04/09/2013 till:01/12/2013 color:associate bar:BertieChap from:04/09/2013 till:01/12/2013 color:associate ImageSize = width:800 height:40 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:0 top:0 right:6 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2008 till:15/09/2013 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:mm #Legend = orientation:horizontal position:top Etymology The Yogscast's name comes from the acronym YOGS, which stands for Ye Olde Goone Squade, the largest European World of Warcraft Goon guild, in which the founding members met. As a WoW ''guild they were led by guild-master Mearis. In 2008, Lewis began recording guild activities and posting videos to YouTube on his personal channel 'BlueXephos' under the title of '''The Yogscast', ''with "YOGS" being the name of the guild and "cast" referring to broad'cast'. Content & History Apart from their stellar commentary, occasionally spectacular gameplay (which tends to quickly spiral to either ends of the spectrum), and incredibly amazing singing talents (especially seen from Mr. Simon Lane), the Yogscast also perform many of the production duties associated with their videos, podcasts, and internet content. The Yogscast is supported by many of their friends who participate in various roles in quite a few of their videos, sometimes behind the scenes, and sometimes as a part of the production. Needless to say, the Yogscast wouldn’t be what it is today without their help and support. The Yogs have been 'casting' now for almost five and a half years, and since they haven't killed one another yet, there's a good chance they will continue to flood the internet with their particular brand of raving, lunatic hilarity balanced by the occasionally insightful game review, at least until one of them is forced to get a real job. Lewis started uploading videos in 2008, where he and other members of the "Goone Squade" would make 'How-to' guides doing the opposite of what they were supposed to do. While a more conventional WoW 'How-to' guide would teach you how to defeat a particular boss, or something similar, the Yogscast's guides usually involved Lewis talking with his guildmates, notably Simon Lane and Yohimitsu, about random crap whilst ''WoW ''footage and techno music played in the background. The Yogscast's off-the-wall comedy quickly gained them some hardcore subscribers and fans. In February 2009, the Yogscast released their first non-WoW video - a review of the post-apocalyptic RPG game Fallout 3, in which Lewis and Simon talked about and praised the game. In the end Simon gave it 13/15 Yogstars and Lewis gave it 14. Simon said that he deducted two stars from the game because of the lack of multiplayer and because he found it depressing. Both Simon and Lewis said that they thoroughly enjoyed the game, and that they had received very little sleeping time because they had been playing it all night. Around this time, Lewis realised that he had enough audio recordings (taken from guild Ventrilo conversations) to make a podcast. A video was uploaded on the 10th February announcing the brand new YoGPoD. For the rest of the year, there wasn't much uploaded to the BlueXephos channel, as most of their content was put uploaded to iTunes in the form of their podcast. Most of the uploaded videos were ''WoW-based, with the exclusion of two game reviews a walkthrough of Tales of Monkey Island, three Aion '' preview videos, a video from Lewis' dad and a ''Saints Row 2 '' gameplay video. At the end of the year the (in)famous 'Arthas Baby' song was uploaded, featuring Hannah (whom we sure regrets partaking in it!) In 2010, the Yogscast began uploading ''WoW Cataclysm Beta videos, where Simon and Lewis showcased things that were going to appear in the upcoming expansion. The videos were met with huge success and the Yogscast's viewer-base grew at a massive rate. It was revealed that they only managed to get into the Beta after two of their fans/friends pretended to be them and asked Blizzard for Beta passes. Due to the popularity of Simon and Lewis' videos, they were granted passes to the Alpha build of the game. Having gotten access to the Alpha of the game, the fans could no longer hold their silence and announced that they had gained access, and although they initially contacted Blizzard for personal gain, they gave their Alpha and Beta passes to Simon and Lewis, so that they could create videos on it. By the end of the year, a new indie game was growing in popularity. Lewis and Simon uploaded their first Minecraft Survival video on December 2nd that year. The series would then go on to become the Shadow of Israphel series, which is perhaps the Yogscast's most famous series to-date. The first few episodes of the series just consisted of Simon teaching Lewis how to play the game, as he was already a veteran. The construction of their base and HQ, known as the Yogcave, began. After a few episodes had been uploaded, one of the members of the Yogscast had the idea to add another character into the mix. They began creating large, monolithic constructions around the map, such as otherworldly henges and pyramids. In the series, Simon and Lewis acted as if they had no idea where the constructions came from and discussed the idea of someone else being on the server. In the ninth episode of the series, they investigated one of the pyramids not too far from the Yogcave. Within the pyramid they found great riches and treasures. Further into the series they introduced their new character. A mysterious, pale faced, dark clothed figure known as Israphel. This figure began harrassing Simon and Lewis as they were constructing the Yogcave, by shooting arrows at them from above. Again, Lewis and Simon hinted that it could be someone else on their server and acted as if it wasn't a big deal. After a long pursuit with the figure, the series span off into a scripted fantasy tale, as opposed to the generic Minecraft Survival series. In the series they met characters such as Old Peculier and Daisy Duke, who were townsfolk in a village called Terrorvale. After the series climax, involving a massive battle with Israphel and his underlings, the first season of Minecraft ended. Following the immense success of their previous Minecraft series, the Yogscast began preparing for a new series, under the name Shadow of Israphel. The wait between season one and Shadow of Israphel spanned one whole month, and to fill the time in between seasons, they created a second, filler season, where Simon and Lewis played the custom Survival Island gamemode for Minecraft, which challenges the player to survive on what little resources they have and create a sustainable resource system. The series lasted just 11 episodes and was accompanied with a number of custom/adventure maps created by Minecraft fans, which proved to be a very popular concept. In the end of the second season, Simon and Lewis' characters - Honeydew and Xephos - are picked up in an airship by Old Peculier and a new character named Skylord Lysander. This marked the end of season two, and the beginning of the third season. Shadow of Israphel began on the 27th January 2011. The series followed a unique and interesting plotline with a number of rich characters and immense locations. Though episodes were initially uploaded on a regular basis, time was needed between groups of episodes for filming and building. As of July 2013, the series has yet to conclude, with the latest episode being part 42. 2011 proved to be one of the most important years for the Yogscast as their viewer-base grew immensely, with the year ending on over 1 million YouTube subscribers. The Yogscast also collaborated with the likes of TotalBiscuit and met with a number of other popular YouTubers, like Gunns4Hire and Athene. 2011 was also the year that a number of Yogscast members created their own channel where they uploaded content. The Yogscast2 channel was created mid-way through the year. At the start of the year, the channel was only really used to upload episodes of Lewis and Simon's YogTrailers series and Hannah and Simon's playthrough of Condemned: Criminal Origins. As the year progressed however, the number of YogTrailers on the channel decreased and it became solely a place for Hannah to upload her Let's Play videos. As the year drew to a close, Lewis and Simon travelled to Germany for Gamescom 2011, which was the first time that Simon had travelled abroad. There they conducted a number of interviews with developers of upcoming games and met with fellow internet personalities, such as Athene, Swifty and close associate Mark "Turpster" Turpin. In October of the same year, Simon and Lewis visited the United States for a Battlefield 3 LAN party with hundreds of other gamers, aboard the USS Hornet, the battleship that collected Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins from their command module that splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. They met fellow gaming personalities such as Gunns4Hire and Spiderbite. At the LAN party they were given an extensive tour of the battleship by two volunteer restoration workers called Bob and Jim. They played a number of games, such as Orcs Must Die! and tested a 3D racing game. They produce intermittent, irreverent, and often dazzlingly unfocused (but somehow startlingly poignant) podcasts, with no set schedule. They would like to be a bit more reliable, but so far Simon has resisted all attempts to be set on a regular schedule. The Yogs produce a veritable plethora of video content, released on YouTube via the BlueXephos Channel, which is focused somewhat like a laser strapped onto the back of a Minecraft chicken (simultaneously sharp yet breathtakingly chaotic) - on the ever expanding world of computer gaming. They are proud indeed to contribute to an industry that is slowly but deliberately degenerating the intellectual capacity of youth throughout the world! The Yogscast have also spread out to other Yogscast related YouTube channels, such as Yogscast2. Gallery Lewis.jpg|The only picture of Lewis that Yognau(gh)ts could find prior to Gamescom 2011. Simon.jpg|Simon holding a packet of toaster bags, which was a topic of discussion in YoGPoD episode 3. Yogscast logo.jpg|The original Yogscast logo and title card for their videos. YOGSCAST_by_spotco.jpg|Early art of the Yogscast's WotLK characters. lewis_simon_gamescom2011.jpg|Screenshot of Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane onboard an airplane heading to Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2011. simonlane_gamescom2011.jpg|Screenshot of Simon Lane making a face in his room in Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2011. simonlane2_gamescom2011.jpg|A screenshot of Simon Lane at the airport with Lewis Brindley holding the camera heading to Gamescom 2011. lewis_simon2_gamescom2011.jpg|Screenshot of Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane at Gamescom 2011 in Cologne, Germany. Simon stole Notch's hat. simonlane3_gamescom2011.jpg|Screenshot of Simon Lane reporting at Gamescom 2011. With dancers in the background. lewis_gamescom2011.jpg|Lewis Brindley reporting at Gamescom 2011. lewis2_gamescom2011.jpg|Lewis reporting again. People dancing in the background! Gamescom 2011. lewis3_gamescom2011.jpg|Lewis talking with the first Yognau(gh)t they've encountered at Gamescom 2011. They're drinking redbull. SSL25134.JPG|Simon and Lewis at the Sony Ericsson booth at GamesCom. Duncan.png|Duncan or 'Lalna' yogscast_wide.jpg gJv36.png|The Minecraft Christmas background featuring the Yogscast Blizzcon1.jpg|Lewis, Simon and Hannah at Blizzcon 2011. Blizzcon3.jpg|Ditto. Awesome Yogscast Picture.jpg|A fan-made Minecraft animated picture of the Yogscast References Category:Table of Content Yogscast Category:Yogscast Category:People Category:Characters Category:Associates